The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) has added URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy West to the Specialty Camp Incubator III cohort. Building on the success of the previous two Incubators, this unique entrepreneurial opportunity will now launch six new camps in the summer of 2018. The addition of the sixth camp, as well as the entire program, is made possible by a combined grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation and The AVI CHAI Foundation.
"Foundation for Jewish Camp has fine-tuned the Incubator into a deeply effective model for creating dynamic, engaging Jewish immersive experiences," says Barry Finestone, President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation. "One of the great successes from the first Incubators has been URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, and we are especially excited to see this camp come out … [Read more...]

For the summer of 2016, Jewish overnight camps experienced an aggregate 2% growth in camper enrollment, reaching 80,622 campers. Since 2006, there has been a steady rise in campers, camps, and the number of campers per camp; the number of campers has grown 23%, with the number of camps in the Foundation for Jewish Camp network growing 13%. … [Read more...]

By Nina Wugmeister and Rachel Raz
“Mom, when can we go to Israel?” my five year old son asked me after the first day of summer camp. I can’t even begin to describe my joy at his question.
I grew up in Connecticut and New York, with rich and varied Jewish experiences and I wanted to give my son the same in our remote and small community in southern Vermont and the surrounding area. I speak fluent Hebrew, have lived in Israel, and am eager to bring some of this to our little corner of the world. Our Jewish community is tiny and geographically spread out, and organized Jewish experiences are limited. The community includes many interfaith families. After a few parents lamented the lack of Jewish options in our area, I decided to create a Jewish day camp. How hard could it be? I figured I needed … [Read more...]

Camp Ramah in California has closed escrow on property adjacent to its Ojai, California, facility. The new land on the northern border will extend the camp to the north and west from its current location and bring the total camp acreage to 445 contiguous acres.
The purchase of the 174 acres of additional property will enable Camp Ramah to grow with the changing needs of current and future summer campers as well as service non-summer retreat needs. The new property will be preserved in its natural state and used to enhance nature experiences and camp programming. … [Read more...]

ATTN: Educators working with high school students, this is a fantastic and unique summer program ...
The Szarvas Fellowships: An incredible opportunity to attend the largest international Jewish camp in Szarvas, Hungary with a pluralistic group of teens from across the United States and Canada. This program will explore issues of Jewish identity, Pluralism, Jewish peoplehood and more. Camp Szarvas has campers from over 25 countries around the world!
For more information, visit www.szarvas.org or email: Rabbi Seth Braunstein, Director at sbraunstein@szarvas.org
The Szarvas Fellowships are administered by The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, in association with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. … [Read more...]

By Rabbi Eddie Shostak
[This is the sixth article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.]
This past summer, my family and I were Shabbat guests at Camp Moshava Ennismore. Just as the stars were coming out, we marched down to the synagogue, escorting out the Shabbat Queen together with the chanichim (campers) and tzevet (staff). All of a sudden, my soon-to-be six-year old son turned to me and uttered in the sweetest and most innocent of ways: “Abba, I wish it was Shabbos every … [Read more...]

By Emily Kessler
Often people at camp refer to the “magic” that appears in passing moments or the joy that accompanies the arrival of Shabbat. While Shabbat is a wonderful time at camp to relax and take a deep breath in the midst of the craziness that is Camp Harlam, Shabbat is not as peaceful an experience for some as it may be for others. Shabbat services require patience, an intense amount of quiet time with one’s inner thoughts, and a lot of sitting in one place.
Shabbat was not easy for some of my campers. One camper used a fidget toy or could ask for someone to take a break with during services. When our unit led services, he did best if we created a special role for him; he decided that handing out prayer books would be best, so we teamed up together. No one had ever seen a Saturday … [Read more...]

By Alex Pomson and Vardit Ringvald
Our two organizations - Rosov Consulting and Middlebury College - have been involved in studying an initiative that is at a point of inflection, on the brink of transitioning from start-up to scale. We have had the opportunity to document and evaluate, from the time of its birth - really, since its conception - the Areivim Hebrew at Camp Initiative. With the initiative moving to a second stage of development, developing a co-brand with the Foundation for Jewish Camp, this a timely moment to share some of what we have learned.
The goal of the Hebrew at Camp Initiative is to create a movement of Hebrew immersive and partially-immersive Jewish day camp programs where pre- and elementary-school-age children can experience, learn and enjoy modern spoken Hebrew … [Read more...]

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